student asking question

What does "shave something off" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Shave something off" refers to cutting off the surface, or removing something off of the surface, of a person or object. "Shaving something off" or simply "shaving" usually refers to removing face and body hair with a razor. Here, he is referring the cement "shaving off", or cutting off, the surface of the tires on this car because the car braked hard after moving fast. Ex: He is going to shave off his beard today. Ex: She carved the wood by shaving off pieces of it with a tool.

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